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The Government is to assist overseas doctors complete their registration - a move the Medical Council says will help put more GPs in the workforce.
Associate Health and Rural Affairs Minister Damien O'Connor said the Government would pay $900,000 to cover the supervision year for the 30 or so overseas-trained doctors who come to New Zealand each year.
After the doctors sit a registration exam they have to undergo a year of supervision before being fully registered, and the money will cover that cost.
Medical Council deputy chairwoman Deborah Read said the funding would help overseas doctors integrate into the health workforce.
As of June 30 there were 6629 overseas-trained doctors on the New Zealand Medical Register 44 per cent of the total.
Dr Read said the funding would help the doctors register faster.
"We know that a number of international medical graduates have difficulty communicating with patients and other medical staff, understanding the New Zealand health system and are out of practice with their medical skills," she said.
"'This funding will enable them to be up-skilled and learn to work effectively within the New Zealand health system."
The Government hopes the assistance will make it easier to get more doctors into the workforce - especially in rural and provincial areas where there are shortages.
"This funding will remove barriers that stand in the way of well-trained people joining our health workforce," Mr O'Connor said.
All New Zealand-trained doctors have an intern year after university during which they get supervised clinical training and hold provisional registration with the Medical Council.
The Clinical Training Agency meets the $32,190 cost for training and supervision per intern for this year. Overseas doctors have to pay it themselves although sometimes employers pay.
Last year, a College of General Practitioners report showed New Zealand had the Western world's highest reliance on overseas-trained doctors, who were most needed for primary healthcare in rural areas.
- NZPA
